Category: Essays

Did I mention that I’m not a big fan of corn? I officially declare this as one of the first reasons that I hated my vacation. The minute our plane’s wheels touched the ground, it was everywhere! They even had plush versions of the stuff in the airport gift shop. It was an ominous start.

BY JJ ULM The other day I noticed a pin had fallen off my bag — because I am the kind of dork who ruins her expensive messenger bag with pins, but who is also clumsy like a YA heroine and snags then on everything. It was one of my The Force Awakens ones, a…

BY ANONYMOUS This should come as no shock to anyone – there are two of me. There’s Public Me, and there’s Real Me. Please don’t click away – I’m absolutely not about to make some overwrought Tyler Durden metaphor. We don’t discuss it much, but there are two of all of us. Public Persona is…

Why white players should sit with Colin Kaepernick BY MILES JOHNSON On Thursday night, the 49ers quarterback was joined in protest by teammate Eric Reid, and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane. Consequently, they pivoted the conversation from Kaepernick’s lone direction, to one that rightly involves the broader population of Black football players. Comments made by players like Victor…

BY RYAN FREEMAN DAY 1 As I sit in my first hotel room of my trip, on the third night, I actually realize how big of an undertaking this project actually is and how little I know about what I want to accomplish. Or even what the “project” itself actually is. A trip, of course,…

BY MEADHBH DHOMNAIL First, a disclaimer: I am that friend that J. J. Ulm mentions in her piece on the privilege of queer people living in urban spaces. I live in Southeast Georgia, on a farm that has been in my family for four generations, and I am a pansexual woman. My partner is a transwoman…

BY JJ ULM Let’s start with this: I’m a lesbian, and I’m openly, publicly, proudly Out. It’s not that hard to be that way in Columbus, OH, where I’ve lived for the last 14 years. According to a 2015 Gallup report, Columbus has the highest percentage of LGBT residents of any Midwestern city. The city…

BY MILES JOHNSON Alton Sterling was selling CDs outside the Triple S. Food Mart before two Baton Rouge police officers wrestled him to the ground, shot, and killed him. Sterling’s name is added to the long list of black people who have committed the deadly sin of being black and alive. I do not know…